Legalizing Marijuana
December 3, 2012
The topic of marijuana has been a big topic for the past few years. The United States considers marijuana as a drug, in some other countries they say it is a natural herb that is grown from the ground. The issue at hand is “should marijuana be legalized?” the congress of the US stay in a constant debate on this subject. Why is the subject of marijuana such in high demand, if the US already considers it a drug? There are many facts that need to be looked at before a final decision can ever be made. In contrast since the past two weeks the state of Colorado became the second state in the US to legalize marijuana. Obviously it is possible for marijuana to be accepted into society, obviously there are as much pros as there are cons. The correct name for marijuana is “cannabis.” Cannabis comes from the cannabis sativa plant. This plant is mainly grown in China, Africa, and some parts of the Caribbean and South America. In China the plant’s original usage was the strong hemp fiber that came from it, it was good for making fishing nets, and clothes, you can still find hemp fiber being used in ropes. Also many ancient civilizations soon discovered the hallucinogenic power the plant had when inhaled into the body, many Chinese, even the Indians began to smoke cannabis because in their minds it allowed them to connect one on one to their god. In years to come the Chinese began to use cannabis for medical usage. Cannabis has always been looked to for medicinal values. It was actually first introduced by a British doctor in the year of 1839, he found that marijuana was actually very helpful for those that suffered from things like; epilepsy, rabies, and tetanus just to name a few. It wasn’t until the 1930’s that marijuana would be looked upon as the new drug. Since then the usage of smoking cannabis has become rather popular across the globe. Instead of it being looked at as an herb from the ground, it is now being looked at as the most popular
The topic of marijuana has been a big topic for the past few years. The United States considers marijuana as a drug, in some other countries they say it is a natural herb that is grown from the ground. The issue at hand is “should marijuana be legalized?” the congress of the US stay in a constant debate on this subject. Why is the subject of marijuana such in high demand, if the US already considers it a drug? There are many facts that need to be looked at before a final decision can ever be made. In contrast since the past two weeks the state of Colorado became the second state in the US to legalize marijuana. Obviously it is possible for marijuana to be accepted into society, obviously there are as much pros as there are cons. The correct name for marijuana is “cannabis.” Cannabis comes from the cannabis sativa plant. This plant is mainly grown in China, Africa, and some parts of the Caribbean and South America. In China the plant’s original usage was the strong hemp fiber that came from it, it was good for making fishing nets, and clothes, you can still find hemp fiber being used in ropes. Also many ancient civilizations soon discovered the hallucinogenic power the plant had when inhaled into the body, many Chinese, even the Indians began to smoke cannabis because in their minds it allowed them to connect one on one to their god. In years to come the Chinese began to use cannabis for medical usage. Cannabis has always been looked to for medicinal values. It was actually first introduced by a British doctor in the year of 1839, he found that marijuana was actually very helpful for those that suffered from things like; epilepsy, rabies, and tetanus just to name a few. It wasn’t until the 1930’s that marijuana would be looked upon as the new drug. Since then the usage of smoking cannabis has become rather popular across the globe. Instead of it being looked at as an herb from the ground, it is now being looked at as the most popular
Citations: Barnes, R. E., Refer Madness: Legal & Moral Issues Surrounding The Medical Prescription of Marijuana. Jan. 2000, Vol. 14 Iss 1, 26p. Charles “Cully” Stimson. Legalizing Marijuana: Why Citizens Should Just Say No. September 13, 2010. http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/09/legalizing-marijuana-why-citizens-should-just-say-no.html Duke, A., 2 states legalize pot, but don’t breakout the Cheetos’ yet.CNN Politics. November 8, 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/07/polotics/marijuana-legalization/index.html Ethan A. Nadelmann. Drug Prohibition in the United States: Costs, Consequences, Alternatives. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Science, New Series, Vol. 245, No. 4921 (Sep. 1, 1989), pp. 939-947 Ingersoli, J. E., The Effect of Legalizing Marijuana & Heroin. Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, U.S Department of Justice Delivered before the Annual Conference of the Maryland Chief of Police, Ocean City, Maryland, and September 19, 1972. Mallison, Jeffrey. Commentary of Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics. Renaissance Quarterly, spring 2007, Vol. 60, Iss 1, p.208-209. 2p Mary Lynn Mathre, MSN, RN, CARN. Therapeutic Cannabis, Policy Perspectives. April 2001, Vol. 101, No. 4